Online shoppers embrace flexible parcel service

Customer data[1] from CollectPlus reveal that people are increasingly using the service to send and receive parcels outside working hours. Rejecting the rigid opening hours of traditional drop-off points, consumers have embraced the innovative service, with a 19 per cent increase in parcels being sent and received outside normal business hours in May 2011, compared to October 2010.[2]

CollectPlus reveals that two fifths of its transactions (41 per cent) take place when post offices are closed.

With 98 per cent of the 3,900 CollectPlus outlets open seven days a week and, normally, early in the morning until late at night, the service offers online shoppers the option to pick up or drop off parcel purchases at a time convenient to them.

Mark Lewis, CEO of CollectPlus, said: “The way we shop has fundamentally changed, with people now expecting to be able to access their favourite store online whenever they like. It logically follows that consumers also need to be able to collect items and return deliveries outside the old-fashioned nine to five trading day. Our customer insight on the service supports this, with many shoppers coming to us for the choice and convenience that the Post Office sadly lacks.”

A fifth (20 per cent) of those sending and receiving parcels via CollectPlus on Monday to Friday are visiting the corner shops after 17.30. In addition, more than half (56 per cent) of deliveries and collections made on Saturdays are during the afternoon, after the Post Office has closed for the day. The retailers partnering with CollectPlus include Very, ASOS, Boden and M&M Direct.

The CollectPlus service offers flexible and convenient returns and deliveries through Yodel, the UK’s leading parcel delivery company, and participating shops within the PayPoint network.